OIR outlines key state bills and budget pressure as Legislature hits week three

The Office of Intergovernmental Relations (OIR) told the Seattle City Council on Jan. 26 that the state Legislature is in its third week of a short session and facing significant time pressure and a roughly $2.3 billion supplemental budget shortfall. Nina Hashemi, OIR director, said the governor's proposed supplemental budget combines spending reductions with one-time fixes and that legislators are weighing revenue proposals as they try to balance a four-year outlook required under state law.

OIR staff outlined a package of bills the city is tracking or has taken positions on. Sameer Janejo highlighted housing and revenue measures, including a proposal to remit a portion of sales-and-use taxes for affordable housing construction (House Bill 1717), and a statewide payroll expense tax with a credit for employers already paying a city payroll expense tax (House Bill 2100). The office said the city signed in support of several housing proposals and testified on others.

On environment and climate policy, OIR summarized companion bills that would ban single-use plastic carryout bags and raise paper-bag fees, a bill phasing out the tire chemical 6-PPD over roughly a decade (noted for stormwater and salmon impacts), and a bill to expand local food purchasing for public schools; the city filed pro-comments on these items.

Public-safety items under monitoring include Senate Bill 5855 (limits on law-enforcement face coverings and identification requirements), SB 5880/HB 201228 (toxicology testing changes to allow alternative labs), and SB 6002, legislation addressing automated license-plate-reader (ALPR) regulation. OIR said the city attorney and other offices have testified on several public-safety bills and that language in some measures may conflict with existing city policy.

OIR also flagged transportation bills — including a measure allowing Sound Transit to issue bonds with terms up to 75 years — and education and social program bills such as a pre-K promise account and a foster-care housing voucher pilot. Staff reminded councilmembers that Feb. 4 is the policy cutoff for most bills in the short session and offered to provide a council-specific tracker tying city priorities to current bill numbers and committee status.

Hashemi and her team committed to follow up with updated bill numbers and a condensed "cheat sheet" for council offices to help members track opportunities for testimony and follow-up between weekly meetings. The presentation concluded with members raising clarifying questions about bond terms, bill numbers, and potential conflicts between state proposals and Seattle policy.